


If At First You Don't Succeed

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel
Genre: Clint is an absolute dork, M/M, Natasha Is a Good Bro, Pre-Slash, Sharing an umbrella, Tony Stark doesn't pine, Tony kinda really loves it, Tony makes assumptions, Unimpressed Tony, cheerful Clint, meet at an engagement party, redoing their first meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27327583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Tony finds himself at his ex-girlfriend’s engagement party (to one of his competitors no less), and is having a slightly miserable evening. A young man keeps catching his eyes but there is nothing Tony can do about it- the chance that he was working for Hammer was too great and Tony wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86
Collections: Kisses Bingo





	If At First You Don't Succeed

**Author's Note:**

> This completes my Bingo square O2 "look from across the room". <3

Tony checked his watch, disappointed to see only five minutes had passed since the last time he checked his watch. With a sigh, he raised his glass up to his lips and took a drink. This event was dragging, more so than most he went to. Part of it was that he didn’t actually want to be here- his ex invited him to her engagement party to one of his competitors. While he took it as a slap in the face, he was also not going to back down and not show up. Oh no. He made a show of being there, a show with his gift, and hoped everyone took it as the “fuck you” he intended it to be.

_ And to think, I stupidly gave up drinking three months ago _ . This excursion certainly would have gone by much better with alcohol- maybe at least he could have flirted with his ex’s sister. If he  _ really _ wanted to create a stir and a scene he would have flirted with his ex’s brother. The thought alone brought a smile to his face as he sipped his lackluster water.

_ Maybe I can call Rhodey and he will come and rescue me. Lord knows Pepper won’t. _ Tony sighed and looked down. He should have told Happy to stick around for an hour so he had an easy exit. Come in, make a show, eat the food, and then get the hell out. Or maybe he could sneak into a sideroom that was quiet and pull his phone out and run some of his projects from here. There was plenty of work he had saved up that he could safely do from a different location.

Tony’s eyes did a sweep of the room again. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time, people laughing and conversing. There were even a few people dancing, nothing crazy but something slow and easy. Even some of his friends that were in attendance were having a good time. He spotted Steve once, talking with a group of military workers. Natasha was floating around the party with ease, just like she always did. Natasha and Pepper both had the power to blend in and fit into any situation so easily, it was terrifying. Even Bruce was in town from California, and Tony was hoping to catch him before the party ended to offer his home up to him so he didn’t have to stay in a hotel. They were close friends, working together in the past, and Tony trusted him.

And then his eyes landed on the man that had been the highlight of his night. The man was tall, slightly taller than Steve, but he was leaner. Tony had walked by him a few times that night and heard that smooth, loud laugh, the way his voice strained to keep from sounding too eager and excited. Tony had been struck by the easy, bright smile on the man’s face and the way his eyes were dancing with laughter and amusement. It wasn’t until Tony was away from him that he noticed the absolute mess of hair on top of his head, seemingly sticking up whichever way it chose. While Tony wasn’t traditionally a fan of the look, it somehow suited the guy who was sporting it.

This time, those bright blue eyes landed on Tony. Tony watched as a small, slow small sprawled itself across the man’s face, his teeth grazing over his lip. If it were a safer situation, Tony would have gone across the room to introduce himself. However, Tony had never seen the man before in any of his circles or events, which suggested that the young man worked for his competitor; Tony had made the mistake once of getting too close to someone who he shouldn’t and he lost blueprints once. Tony raised his glass and gave a small nod in greeting before he turned away. Pepper would have his head if he did something so stupid again.

Tony pulled his phone out and checked his messages and his emails. He was hoping for an excuse to leave, something that no one could judge him for or leave them thinking he left because he was jealous because he was  _ not _ . So far he was coming up empty handed.

“Hello.” Tony startled and lowered his phone while raising his eyes. The blond from across the room and standing near him, that smile aimed right at him. “I don’t believe we have had the pleasure to meet yet.”

Tony slipped his phone back into the inside of his suit jacket. “No, I don’t believe we have. Tony,” he said, extending a hand.

“Clint,” the mystery man said, shaking Tony’s hand.

Up this close, Tony noticed things he hadn’t before. The man’s shoulders were wide, and his arms looked like they were ready to burst at the seams of this suit jacket. He had light freckling sprayed across nose and cheeks, and his nose looked like it had been broken more than once. There were three scars on his face, one above his right eye, one to the side of his left eye, and one running along his right jaw. 

“Enjoying yourself, Clint?” Tony asked politely. He could do that- he could be polite without incurring Pepper’s wrath.

“Well, as much as one can at one of these events,” Clint answered. “Nothing quite screams ‘you are going to die alone’ like being at a rich person’s engagement party.”

The surprised laugh nearly startled Tony, and he covered his mouth as Clint’s smile widened. “That is… one way to look at it,” Tony relented. “You do know-”

“That you are basically the richest person in the room? Yeah, got that far,” Clint said with a drawl. “Trust me, every single man and lady is going to think the same if you have one of these events. It’s soul crushing.” 

Tony was thrown through a loop and had to recover quickly. “You really don’t care about the whole money aspect of things, do you?”

“Nope. Gave up caring about that sort of thing a  _ long _ time ago,” Clint said proudly. “And I figured that if you came in here with one of those big ‘fuck you and your invite’ gifts that you can take a joke or two. By the way, even without the gift, coming to your ex-fiance’s engagement is a huge fuck you, I’m confident energy. Kudos.”

Tony liked this guy- he was confident, snarky, and treated him like he was anyone else he would randomly meet. About the only downside, aside from the hair, was the obscene amount of lemons in his water. But Tony couldn’t shake the feeling that the guy was being nice just to make Tony’s guards come down, and Tony wasn’t drinking, so that wasn’t happening.

“Look, I am going to be straight up and honest with you,” Tony said with a sigh. “You seem like a nice guy. You are certainly attractive, and while I would absolutely enjoy flirting with you all night, it won’t go anywhere.” Clint’s face turned from all smiles to confusion. “I don’t date people working for my competitor. I have done that once and it ended poorly.”

“Who said I was working for one of your competitors?” Clint asked.

“If you weren’t, I would have seen you at one of the Stark Industries events as someone on the approved list,” Tony pointed out. “I know everyone in the industry, assuming you are higher up within the company you work for.”

“I think you misunderstand-”

“I’m sorry.”

Clint opened his mouth before he closed it. Tony could see the gears turning in his head. He still looked surprised, maybe a little hurt. He went to open his mouth again before Natasha came up behind him, a hand starting on his shoulder and running down to his lower back.

“Hello gentlemen,” Natasha greeted.

“Hello, Natasha,” Tony greeted.

“Hey Nat,” Clint said fondly, although that fondness wasn’t reaching his face quite yet. “I was just having a quick chat with Mr. Stark here before I headed out for the night. He looked like he could use a break from his exhausting evening.” Tony was surprised when Clint turned his head and brushed his lips against Natasha’s cheek and she didn’t bother to move around, but to lean into the touch.

“I’ll keep my eye on him then,” Natasha said. “Leaving then?”

“Yeah. Got in very early this morning. I’m exhausted,” Clint answered. “Mr. Stark, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope you have a great rest of your evening.”

“You as well,” Tony said, lifting his glass to Clint.

Clint whispered something to Natasha, causing her to laugh before he winked at Tony and left. Tony watched him head to the front door, being stopped before he could leave. Then he saw a hand in front of his face and he jumped. “What?” he asked.

Natasha had a fond smile on her face. “Is someone pining?” she asked.

“I don’t pine,” Tony said sternly. “Anyway- enjoying yourself?” he asked. Natasha raised an eyebrow. “What?” he asked, exasperated.

“Nothing.” She smiled and ran her hand through her hair. “So what did you think of Clint?”

“Seemed nice. But I don’t usually talk to people who work for my competition,” Tony answered. Natasha’s smile only grew. “Are you going to tell me or are we going to draw this out all night, Romanoff?” he asked. “Because I haven’t had enough alcohol for the latter.”

Natasha laughed. “You are precious,” she said, her hand touching his cheek. “Don’t you remember me telling you about the guy who I grew up in the group home with?” she asked. “Do you really think there are that many Clint’s in the world that are tall, blond, with blue eyes?”

Tony stared at her blankly. “What?”

“That was Clint Barton, you beautiful genius,” Natasha informed him. “He’s the guy I was telling you about. Olympic athlete, worked for the government. Now runs that charity for underprivileged children.” 

The realization dawned on Tony and he ran his tongue along the inside of his bottom lip. “Huh.”

“Huh,” Natasha repeated. “He just left. If you run for it-”

“I’m not running,” Tony said as he started to walk away from her.

“I’ll see you at your wedding,” Natasha called after him.

Tony thought briefly about breaking any level of professionalism he had left in him for the night to flip her off. It was tempting. He would get pay back at some point though; he didn’t know how quite yet, but he would puzzle it out later. Natasha was good at keeping secrets but he was convinced that he could figure out what, or who, he could use against her. 

For now, he was on a mission. Tony walked briskly to head outside, pulling down his suit firmly before he opened the front door. The rain was coming down harder than expected and Tony froze just under the awning to avoid getting wet. He scanned the city streets, standing up on his tiptoes to see if he could spot Clint.

There, standing under a bright purple umbrella was the guy he was looking for. He was on the phone, his eyebrows furrowed as he talked to something before he looked up at the sky in what looked like a sign of defeat. Tony pulled his phone out and sent a text to Happy to ask him to come pick him up early.

“Hey!” Tony called, but Clint didn’t so much as flinch. “Hey!” Still, Clint only looked towards the roadway. Maybe he had offended the guy more than what he thought. Tony sighed and looked at the sky. “He better be worth this,” he muttered before he jogged down the stairs, trying not to slip on the wet pavement. He came up close to Clint and tapped his shoulder. “Hey!”

Clint startled and turned before he smiled awkwardly. “Oh! Oh hey!” he said, his cheeks flashing pink. “Sorry, I was just assuming-” he rambled. “Oh! Oh here! It’s big enough to share,” Clint said, crowding into Tony’s space, holding the umbrella between them. Tony squashed down the feelings it gave him and tried to compose himself. “Waiting for your ride?” he asked.

“I was actually looking for you,” Tony answered. Clint looked surprised for a moment, his lips parting slightly. “I’m sorry for what happened back there.”

“Why are you apologizing for that exactly?” Clint asked out of confusion.

“I was blunt and rude, and made assumptions about you,” Tony answered. “I assumed you worked for Hammer and that he had sent you along to try to… well…”

“It’s sweet you think I’m smart enough to work for tech gods,” Clint said with a laugh. “No. I knew the bride. We went to highschool together. Her father is one of the reasons I am where I am today. Long story.”

“Do you do coffee?” Tony asked abruptly.

“I live for it,” Clint answered. He still looked a little thrown, but that smile was returning to its seemingly natural state.

“How would you feel about going to grab coffee and maybe starting this whole first meeting thing over again?” Tony asked. “This time without me sounding like an ass.”

“Oh? You are capable of that?” Clint asked, struggling to hide back his smile. Tony shrugged noncommittally. Clint nodded a few times before he raised up his free hand. “Hey handsome. I saw you staring at me from across the room. My name is Clint. How do you feel about getting out of this place and finding a nice cafe to go sit in?”

“Normally people offer to take me to the bar,” Tony said.

“Lucky for you, I don’t drink,” Clint answered. “What do you say, Mr. Stark?”

“I haven’t introduced myself,” Tony argued.

Clint rolled his eyes playfully. “Like I wouldn’t know who you are.”

“Pretend?”

Clint blinked then smiled some more. “Here. Hold this.” He shoved the umbrella into Tony’s hand and winked. “Stay right there. Don’t move on me.”

“What? Where-”

Clint darted off and Tony turned to watch him. “I said don’t move!” Clint shouted down at him, causing Tony to laugh. Tony turned back around and looked at the cars as they passed by. He couldn’t help the smile on his face before he heard footsteps pounding down the stairs. “Excuse me!” Tony turned and smiled as Clint strolled over as if it wasn’t raining cats and dogs outside. “Hey, I saw you from inside and I didn’t have the chance to speak with you.”

“Well, that’s a shame,” Tony said slowly.

“It definitely is,” Clint agreed. “Mind if we share?” Tony nodded and Clint stepped under the umbrella. “Purple. Nice. It’s my favorite color.” Tony snorted at the absurdity of it all. “I’m Clint, by the way.”

“Tony,” Tony answered.

“Well Tony. I dunno about you, but I could go for some coffee on a day like this,” Clint said with a smile. “If you aren’t busy, I would love for you to join me.” Happy pulled up just then and got out of the car. Clint’s eyes flickered that way before he looked back at Tony. “I promise you won’t regret it.”

Tony smiled and handed the umbrella back off to Clint, his hand linger over Clint’s for a moment. “Coffee sounds good. I think I could go for some coffee.”


End file.
